New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is directing the province’s public sector to purchase U.S. products only when Canadian alternatives are unavailable, in a bid to help offset the impact of Washington’s latest round of tariffs.
The provincial order was just one of the new measures Holt announced on Sept. 10, which she described as a means to protect the provincial economy against the escalating Canada-U.S. trade dispute.
“This will apply even to companies that may be in Canada that are supplying U.S. products,” Holt said during a Sept. 10 press conference. “We’re looking to them to replace those products as well because we don’t want those U.S. services or goods in the province, as well as our previous exemption on or exclusion of U.S. companies.”
The province will also ban the purchase of American goods and services for contracts valued at more than $5 million beginning on Oct. 1 and renew its buy local campaign, the premier said.
Holt’s announcement comes two days after U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his retaliatory measures following Canada’s implementation of a new series of tariffs on American products. These dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs came in response to the U.S. imposing 50 percent tariffs on select Canadian goods last month.
Trump signed executive orders on Sept. 8 that restrict the import of certain goods from Canada, including most alcoholic beverages, some dairy products, and motorcycles.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has criticized Canadian officials in recent days for describing the tariffs and the lack of a deal between the two countries as a trade “war,” arguing that Washington is responding to Canadian measures and trade barriers rather than initiating an economic conflict with Canada. Holt characterized the dispute as a trade war during her announcement.
“We are clearly in a trade war and a very challenging situation where New Brunswick businesses have been directly impacted by the actions of Trump and Canada is responding in the best way possible to advance our interests,” she said. “They need to see the strength of the Canadian economy and they’ll recognize that there’s a lot of products that Canada makes that the U.S. can’t live without.”
Holt also announced funding for New Brunswick businesses affected by the trade dispute. Some of the support options include working capital loans of up to $5 million for businesses in impacted sectors. Opportunities NB, the provincial business development and economic agency, has also allocated up to $1 million to help companies impacted by tariffs to grow their sales in the province and across Canada.
Holt said her government is also looking into whether it has the authority to restrict Americans from acquiring fishing and hunting licences and mining claims.
She said it could be a “negotiating tool” among the “influential” U.S. citizens it affects, noting that there are mineral claims in New Brunswick owned by Americans and American firms.
“We want to make sure that New Brunswick’s resources are going to the benefit of New Brunswickers,” she added.
Meanwhile, NB Liquor is set to review its interprovincial purchasing and sales practices to identify opportunities to prioritize Canadian products. The Crown corporation is responsible for buying and selling all alcoholic beverages in the province.
New Brunswick, like many other provinces, stopped selling U.S. alcohol in February 2025. The government also directed an immediate review of provincial procurement at that time.
Since then, the value of U.S. contracts has decreased from $34.4 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year to $16.4 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to a provincial press release.
